Warehouse pallet-rack safety netting system

ABSTRACT

A pallet rack safety net system comprises two parallel horizontal wire ropes that are stretched along the top and bottom edges of a shelf opening. A pair of hung left and right screens of flexible netting are attached between the top and bottom wire ropes so that they can be horizontally separated at the middle of the shelf opening. The inside vertical edges of each screen are finished with a metal bar and a clasp so the screens can be latched together at the middle. The outside left and right edges of the screens are secured to the outside of the shelf opening. If used on a top shelf that has no supports at each side of the opening, a pair of support posts are included that hold aloft the top horizontal wire rope. A network of stays and guys are used to reinforce each such post.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to material-handling systems, andmore particularly to safety netting that contains product on overheadshelves and that protect workers and customers below in the aisles.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] Shelves and racks are a convenient way to store items, and storedmany levels high such can maximize floor space. A typical warehouseretail store like The Home Depot has pallet racks that are two, three,and four levels high. Heavy items, like backup store inventory on apallet, is placed and fetched from high above by a forklift.

[0005] Heavy items placed ten to twenty feet high above aisles in palletracks and on shelves can present a significant and not-so-rare personalinjury risk. Shaking, bumping, and poorly stacked items can cometumbling down and hurt people below, or at a minimum damage the product.

[0006] Not surprisingly, a number of different devices and methods haveevolved to address these problems. The Law too has entered the picturewith OSHA regulations, and personal injury lawsuits. New companyprocedures, union work rules, and plain common sense now dictate that aneffective restraint, barrier, or guard system be installed on the highershelves and rack to prevent falling debris.

[0007] As could be expected, some methods and devices are better thanothers. Conventional safety products can be expensive to buy, anddifficult to work with or install. A simple netting secured all aroundthe shelf opening can be effective if the netting is strong enough andsecured well. But the way the netting is secured and constructed canmean opening the net to access the shelf is made very difficult, in somecases requiring a technician to climb high above and use hand tools toopen and/or close the net.

[0008] Sinco/Sala (Middletown, Conn.), InCord (East Haddam, Conn.), andothers market rack guard systems use different kinds of barriers andattachment hardware. For example, Sinco/Sala uses a nylon mesh that isstretched inside a perimeter frame of taught wire rope. So-calledEZ-clips are used to attach the netting to the wire rope frame. InCordmarkets their SURE-GARD™ synthetic mesh that is able to stretch underload. A variety of mesh-size openings are offered for a range ofcontained item types and sizes.

[0009] A MEZZNET-DEFENSE-SYSTEM™ is marketed by BayNets (East Haddam,Conn.) that raises and lowers flexible netting hung from a rod that isguided up and down by a pair of side posts. Open-sided mezzanines withthese systems are accessed by operating a cable and pulley system thatconnects to the rod and runs inside the two side posts. The cable andpulleys can be manually cranked, or powered by an electric motor.BayNets' advertising literature suggests that these systems meet federalOccupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fall-protectionstandards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Briefly, a pallet rack safety netting embodiment of the presentinvention comprises two parallel horizontal wire ropes that arestretched along the top and bottom edges of a shelf opening. A pair ofhung left and right screens of flexible netting are attached between thetop and bottom wire ropes so that they can be horizontally separated atthe middle of the shelf opening. The inside vertical edges of eachscreen are finished with a metal bar and a clasp so the screens can belatched together at the middle. The outside left and right edges of thescreens are secured to the outside of the shelf opening. If used on atop shelf that has no supports at each side of the opening, a pair ofsupport posts are included that hold aloft the top horizontal wire rope.A network of stays and guys are used to reinforce each such post.

[0011] An advantage of the present invention is that a safety netting isprovided that is effective.

[0012] Another advantage of the present invention is that a safetynetting is provided that is easy to install.

[0013] A further advantage of the present invention is that safetynetting systems are provided that are simple to operate.

[0014] The above and still further objects, features, and advantages ofthe present invention will become apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description of specific embodiments thereof,especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a safety netting system embodimentof the present invention installed on a pallet rack shelving unit;

[0016]FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams representing the opening and closingof the screens and the use of the clasp; and

[0017]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the safety netting system of FIG.1 with the addition of guy wire stays that reinforce the posts above thetop shelf of the pallet rack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018]FIG. 1 illustrates a safety netting system embodiment of thepresent invention, referred to herein by the reference numeral 100. Thesafety netting system 100, in this example, comprises three screenedsections, 101-103, that are attached to a pallet rack 104. Suchcombination would be used in an ordinary warehouse, or in a warehousestore like The Home Depot. The principle purpose of the safety nettingsystem 100 is to keep objects on the overhead shelves of the pallet rack104 from falling down onto the floor, for whatever reason. Each of thethree sections of the safety netting system 100 is exemplified bysection 101, which includes a top horizontally strung wire rope 105 anda bottom strung wire rope 106. A left-screen bar 108 and a right-screenbar 110 are configured to slide along the wire ropes and close at themiddle with a snap latch 112.

[0019] A left screen 114 is fixed at its left edge to the framework ofthe pallet rack 104. Similarly, a right screen 116 is fixed at its rightedge at the opposite side of the shelf opening to the pallet rackframework. The screens comprise flexible netting of nylon rope, chainlink fencing, rigid vertical links, etc. A set of posts 118, 120, and122 are added to the top of the pallet rack 104 to hold aloft the topwire rope 105. Each such post may be guyed or stayed like the main mastof a sailboat if the vertical frame members of the pallet rack 104cannot be supplied as one solid piece of box-beam or I-beam steel. Ifthe loads to be secured on the top shelves are especially heavy anddangerous, it is preferable to guy and stay the posts 118, 120, and 120in every instance.

[0020]FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate how the screens of system 100, forexample, are latched together (FIG. 2A) and separated (FIG. 2B). A topand bottom pair of parallel wire ropes 201 and 202 are stretched tautbetween a rigid pair of vertical support posts 203 and 204. A left and aright draw screen 206 and 208 are made of flexible netting, e.g., madeof nylon rope. A number of loops top and bottom allow the screens toslide left and right on the wire ropes. The left screen 206 is securedwith wire loops or hooks to the left post 203. And the right screen 208is secured at its right edge with wire loops or hooks to the right post204. A rigid left bar 210 finishes the right edge of the left screen206. A rigid right bar 212 similarly finishes the left edge of the rightscreen 208. These rigid bars help close up a gap between them and thescreens when a latch 214 is secured.

[0021]FIG. 3 shows how a vertical post can be reinforced and stiffened.In a rack storage system 300 similar to pallet system 100 in FIG. 1, apair of wire stays 302 and 304 crisscross one another from anchor plates306, 308, and 310. A back stay 312 further supports a vertical post 314.Each similar post preferably receives an identical combination of wirestays, anchor plates, and back stays. These then all resist any tendencyof the posts to fold or distort under load.

[0022] Although particular embodiments of the present invention havebeen described and illustrated, such is not intended to limit theinvention. Modifications and changes will no doubt become apparent tothose skilled in the art, and it is intended that the invention only belimited by the scope of the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A safety device for preventing objects fromfalling, comprising: a pair of horizontally disposed top and bottom wireropes for stretching above and below a shelf opening; a pair of left andright screens for sliding attachment between the top and bottom wireropes such that they can be horizontally separated at the middle, andwherein outside edges of each screen can be fixed to said shelf openingto the left and right; a left metal bar attached to a right edge of theleft screen; a right metal bar attached to a left edge of the rightscreen; and a clasp for latching and unlatching the left and right barstogether for securing and accessing objects stored behind the screens.2. The safety device of claim 1, further comprising: a pair of left andright posts for extending above a top shelf and for providing mechanicalsupport to the top wire rope.
 3. The safety device of claim 2, wherein:said outside edges of each screen are fixed to the left and right posts.4. The safety device of claim 1, further comprising: a guy wire stayattached to one of the posts for and for providing mechanical support.5. The safety device of claim 1, further comprising: a pair of guy wirestays attached to one of the posts for and for providing mechanicalsupport by crisscrossing between opposite sides.
 6. The safety device ofclaim 1, wherein: the screens comprise flexible netting stretchedbetween the top and bottom wire ropes.